The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-01-07
HOUSED AT LAST.
The Frisco Express Robbers Be-
hind the Bars in St. Louis.
Most of the Money Returned to the Express
Compensatory of the Robbery Told by
Wittrock, alias t'Jim Cummings
-Fotheringhsm InnOcent'

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 1t was just half-past
/ eight o'clock when the second section of
! train No. 4, Missouri Pacific, from Kansas
/ City, rolled into the Union depot. The
/ blizzard was raging furiously and Fred
! Wittrock, known to fame as Jim Cum
/ mings, could consistently say ''it was a
! cold day when he got left'' No sooner
/ had the wheels stopped turning than the
/ Pinkerton party, led by ''Bob," stepped
/ out of the sleeper Genoa. After "Bob''
/ came Operatives Ed Kearney and William
/ Wilbasky, with 'tJim" between them.
/ Superintendent Damsel, Secretary Me
lay, Marshall Mcdonald and q re-
/ porter made up the rest of the party.
/ When the piercing wind struck the prison
! er he pulled his slouch hat down over his
/ eyes, turned up his coat collar and grasp
| ing his yellow leather valise with firm
grip, walked rapidly with his escort to
ward Poplar street. On reaching the
street Wittrock, Bob PinkertOn and two
of the operatives jumped into carriage
and were driven to the Office of the Adams
/ Express Company. Mr.. Pinkerton and
| his prisoner stepped into the Office, where
a vahse containing about $4,000 Of the
booty was returned to its rightful owners.
/ The carriage was again called into requisi-
/ ton, and five minutes later the party
/ entered the Four Courts. Wittrock
] WAS b6hCu 10 bHS CuAC1 O4AACC1 w AACA <
/ he was formally introduced to Chief Hue
/ bier by Mr.. Pinkerton.
! The most peculiar feature of Wittrocks s
( makeup is the manner in which he carries
his head. 1t early always inclines to the
! left, due to some spinal affection. He was
/ dressed in heavy, dark overcoat, check
/ ed sackcoat and vest and jean pantaloons.
/ There was no jewelry, no diamonds nor
other ornaments to which the professional
thief il Martial w hen q has ttSfUff -
The prisoner was turned over to an Of
/ icer and was taken to the Central station,
where he said his name was Fred. Witt
/ rock, twenty-six years of age, single and
1 born in Canada. He was searched and
five dollars, open-face silver
watch and half a dozen bunches
/ of cigarettes were found in his
/ possession. He submitted very quietly to
/ the searching process, not uttering word
! or paying any attention to the throng OF
/ people surrounding him. He was taken
down to the Gala boose and Mr.. Pinkerton
ordered breakfast from HOeffner's 5 for
him. After breakfast he was visited by a
reporter and asked to make full state
ment of the conception and execution of
the robbery. He weighed every question
/ deliberately, laughed occasionally, and did
not talk or appear at all like man for
whom the future had sack-cloth and ashes
If store. He said:
''There are some things that I can no4
talk about. I have made promises not to
speak on certain points, but it will come
/ out in a day or two"
''Have you made q full statement to
Pinkertonl"
Il don't ike to say any thing about that.
/ don't like to say any thing that will in
jure my friends To begin with, I'll say
here that Farthingham is innocent, and
my only object in writing the letters was
!, I le,1%
/ before the night of October %, though 1
\ ID heavd his name. I've seen it since,
! published Fotheringham, but had it from
/ good az nority that his name was Earth
ingham. Another thing-the woman had
nothing to do with this job. Mrs Haight
/ new nothing about it; Haight knew moth
in about it when the thing was dOnen
''Can you tell me OF the occurrences on
the express car on the night of October
25l"
'sThat is one Of the points on which l
can't talk 1 want to say about Cook; he
/ didn't know anything about it until gave
him money"
''Is Wittrock your right name?"
eyes, l am twenty-six years old, born in
/ Canada and moved to Leavenworth in
/ 1869. l went to school there and for six
years kept books for Burdette & Hise. Mr..
Burdette is prominent Odd-Feuow.
/ left LeavenwOrth about two years ago and
went to Chicago, where I went into a small
/ coal business. am not a married man,
I though my neIghbors in Chicago thought I
was. / came to St Louis about week be-
/ fore the robbery and rented room at Mrs.
/ Berry's. Weaver was with me, but few
/ days before the business was done he
weakened and went back to Chicago. I
went by the name of Williams at Mrs.
/ Berry's. I see it is said that Cook was
/ with me there, but that is a mistake. Cook
| w. in a (7ifTr at Iat i171o
care the statements of Moriarity trueF'
/ 'What are theyf'
''He says he was offered inducements to
/ go into the scheme, and for 5000 would
ell all he knew"
''Weu, if he said that, he is dirt y
| scOundrel. It's true that he promised to
assist me, but when the time came he
weakened and wouldn't keep the appoint
ment, When I made up my mind to do
/ the work I picked out the smallest mes
/ senger an the road to hold up. His name
was Hart, and l would have got him only
I for the porter, who stopped in the car IN
til after it had started. That was the
4 Wednesday before the Monday the job was
/ done. Next night 1 didn't know Fother-
/ ingham's name, and had to wait until
Monday to fix things Then Weaver weak
I ened, and, though tried my best to stiffen
/ him up, it was no use and he skipped
/ back to Chicago. I made up my mind to
4 go it alone, and 50 about seven O'Clock
/ that night I went down to the depot. 1t
was kind of rainy, and kept shady, and
1 didn't speak to any one"
/ "Did you speak to a Wabash engineer2"
/ mo, 1 did not. He is mistaken, or else
I he is lying, if he said 1 spoke to him. J.
walked to the express car and got in tho
/ side door"
"The gineer says Fotheringhamh helped
/ you in"
''WeIl, he didn't. I jumped in and gave
/ aim the letters"
what became of the Ietters?''
THAI will be explained in a few days. 4"
/ t'Did Fotheringham say anythiug9"
"Yes He said, if you amt caught
they'll fire me up to the Four Courts, and
he was about right As 1 said, the 0nry
/ reason wrote the letters to the RcDHblic1yt
and Globe was to prove him innocent. The
Globe treated me dirty mean by fixing up
my letter as if it was pack of lies. So
/ wrote another in Kansas City Just before
/ 1 left for the South, telling the editor Of
] the mean way he had treated me. and
I putting in more facts to show Fothering-
/ hams innocence This was buried out in
the prairie, and / left instructions with a
friend of mine to mail it after got three
or four days start Wen, he was shad-
/ owed so closely by detectives that he
/ couldn't"
! -"Did he know he was shadowed2n
Certainly he did; but he was married
and had family and couldn't get oUt.''
''Was tnat Cook!n
/ Il don't want TO answer that; but I see
/ they dug the letter up, and it is published
I this morning"
about the robbery again. We're you
en- the train when it was delayed for an
/ hour by
THE ROCK OK THE TRACK}"
/ yes, / was. could have got of then,
/ BUT wasn't near enough to-my plant
..Dla Won Throw any clolhas ont oI Tie